Tom Reed for Congress

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Column: Simplifying the Tax Code for Southern Tier Families

Simplifying the Tax Code in NY23

Families in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes go through it each year. We gather the forms from our employers, sift through bank documents and receipts, and fill out confusing forms. Each year, families and small business find themselves collectively spending more than 6 billion hours and $160 billion to file their taxes.

Is it fair? No. Simply put, the existing tax code is unfair to families — it lets Washington pick winners and losers at the expense of hardworking taxpayers. I want to solve problems. We have a 70,000-page problem in the tax code. Our tax laws have not been seriously reformed since 1986. Taxpayers deserve a simpler, fairer tax code that closes loopholes and puts everyone on a level played field because real tax reform means more and better jobs for Americans. We need a tax code that will encourage the economy of tomorrow by supporting growth in our communities today.

My work on the Ways and Means Committee provides an opportunity to ensure the voices of the families in our area are heard. This is important because special interests like those that support my opponent promote misinformation about tax reform for the sake of winning elections.

I’ll get right to the truth: The reality is that the tax reforms proposed by the Ways and Means Committee would save families in the 23rd District an average of $600 annually — that’s money that stays in your pockets. I believe that you can better decide how to spend your money and care for your financial health than someone in Washington can.

Our problem is not that people do not pay enough in taxes; it is that Washington spends too much. Our taxes come from hard work — and while tax reform is central to this debate, the conversation must be had within the context of Washington’s spending problems and the negative effect that current tax laws have on creating new opportunities for all. We must work together to make responsible decisions on government spending. Each taxpayer dollar spent must be carefully examined to make sure it is being used in the most effective way possible — it’s only fair.

We work hard in upstate and we deserve to know that the federal government won’t raise our taxes to pay for Washington’s spending problem. My opponent doubled taxes in Tompkins County and voted to raise taxes every year in the county legislature. She will blindly support the policies of her liberal allies in Congress that propose new taxes or raising taxes on us to pay for their big government agenda.

I care about the families in the 23rd District, and I believe a simplified, common-sense tax code will benefit every American. We need to take advantage of this opportunity to lower tax rates, fight the tax increases supported by my opponent and her liberal allies and work for a simpler, fairer code that protects taxpayers and encourages job creation.